Disability Project

St. Claire Henry, Kurt Williams & Junie Mills

Form: 4A1

Ottos Comprehensive Secondary School

Injuries to the spinal cord can frequently result in profound disability. The extent to which a person is disabled depends on the portion of the spine that is injured. Paraplegia, or paralysis of the legs, results when the injury occurs around the thoracic or lumber vertebrae of the spine. These extend from about shoulder level to below the waist. Neck injuries can cause quadriplegia, or paralysis from the neck down. People with these disabilities are often confined to wheelchairs. Loss of bowel and bladder control occurs with quadriplegia and with paraplegia when paralysis is from the waist down.

The person my group interviewed is our very own St. Claire Henry. Mr. Henry was born in the year 1987, unfortunately Mr. Henry had an accident when he was younger which daily he regrets. It was one afternoon when he and some friends were playing football and everything was going well until St. Claire fell very hard on his back damaging his spinal cord. Presently, he is paralyzed from the waist down.

Presently, St. Claire attends the Ottos Comprehensive School. He tries very hard not to let his disability limit him in anyway. One of his main frustrations is the lack of accommodation for his wheelchair. Before a ramp was installed at the school in 2004, he daily had to be lifted up a number of stairs in order to get to his class. This was not easy for him or us.

Junie Mills and Kurt Williams decided to do an investigation to see if there are any accommodations for wheelchairs users or physically challenged persons in St. John’s. We examined the entrance to most of the stores and buildings, and found no ramps. We noticed that most of the streets were very narrow, causing the sidewalks to be very small. With many people going up and down, there is no way that one could run a wheelchair on them. We found a few exercise hand machines at the government rehabilitation center at the Holberton Hospital. Furthermore, there are only two physiotherapists working there and when one is sick or is on vacation things are really hectic. You would have to sit and wait for nearly an hour before you can start doing your exercises with the therapist.

During one interview St. Claire also indicated to us how much he missed playing basketball. Most of the time when any sporting activities are taking place all he can do is sit and watch along, this grieves him. Well as a group this idea came to mind, a sport that could be introduced which goes by the name of Wheel Chair Basketball. The government can even construct a sporting complex for the physically challenged so that their skills, talents and capabilities can be utilized.

‘I have had the same wheel chair for close to three years, a lady bought it for me,’ St. Claire told us. It was new at that point but because of the way some of the students have driven the wheelchair the handle has broken off two times so far, and had to be welded back on. The footplate is very loose so I constantly have to be pulling them straight. The brakes do not work any more because of again the manner in which some students use the brakes. They enjoy pushing the wheelchair through water then locking the brakes so it can slide.

People in Antigua do not treat the physically challenged as equals. Have you ever been to a store and seen a disabled individual working there? I thought so, not very often. Also how many such persons are in school? Only a few.

I hope these concerns will be looked into. There may not be any change by tomorrow, but if the matter is addressed, significant changes can be implemented.